Tiny Brontë book to fetch over £200,000

The Young Men’s Magazine, Number 2, was written when Charlotte was 14, and is set in Glass Town, part of the fictional world created by the Brontë siblings.

Charlotte, Branwell, Emily and Anne Brontë created imaginary countries as children and created maps, stories and poems about the people they created. Branwell and Charlotte created the kingdom of Angria, while Emily and Anne created the world of Gondal. They created their works in tiny script as if penned by one their brother’s toy soldiers and set out their world in obsessive detail.

Few could have guessed Charlotte Brontë would one day be regarded as one of English literature’s most gifted writers.

The book contains more than 4,000 words on 19 pages, each measuring approximately 1.4 inches by 2.4 inches.

It is dated August 1830 – 17 years before she wrote Jane Eyre – and is said to have never before been seen by scholars.

Sotheby’s said it is the most important Brontë manuscript to appear at auction in more than 30 years and is one of only a handful of such pieces remaining in private ownership.

Sotheby’s senior specialist in the books and manuscripts department, Gabriel Heaton, said: “Crafted with extraordinary care, this minute manuscript marks Charlotte Brontë’s first burst of creativity and, significantly, provides a rare and intimate insight into one of history’s great literary minds.

“It contains a colourful tale of murder and madness which includes a precursor to one of the most famous scenes in Jane Eyre – the moment when Bertha, Mr Rochester’s insane wife, seeks revenge by setting fire to the bed curtains in her husband’s chamber.”

The manuscript is being sold at the auction of English Literature, History, Children's Books and Illustrations on December 15.